Mayview
by AuPalladium
Summary: As yet another new student appears at Mayview Middle School, the secrets of what really occurs under the veil is opened to 13-year-old Jason Kurst, while he makes new friends along the way.
1. Chapter 1 - Introductions

***swivels in chair, to spin towards the readers* Oh! Hello! I didn't see you there** (please don't kill me) **.**

 **Hey guys, it's Gold, otherwise known as AuPalladium, or Triple or whatever the hell you wanna call me. (But let's keep it appropriate.) I'm here for a new series based off of a webcomic I fell in love with a month back called Paranatural. It's basically about kids in middle school who fight ghosts and stuff. I highly recommend reading it, for it's HILARIOUS. Zack Morrison is one great guy and an even better comedian. So, yeah, shout-out to him. (._.)**

 **Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy and stuff, and be ready for more frequent updates! See ya!**

 **~AuPd**

* * *

Crunch, crunch, crunch… Jason kept walking forward, in the lush green grass, walking towards Mayview Middle School. Mayview… it seemed a little out-of-place. By out-of-place, it's closer to how a bright color is contrasted against a spectrum of grey. It's easy to spot, and way too bright at that. It's cheerful, surrounded by a lot of boring metropolises. (Metropoli?) And as he's known for all of his life, there's not a single dang thing in the world that can be cheerful without a secret to hide. Maybe this is why everyone calls him a cynic… at thirteen.

He stopped and listened. The school could now be seen in the distance. He took a deep breath. He could hear the obnoxious sounds of laughing children. Well, maybe peers. Jason always has these internal debates with himself. On many occasions, he has been to therapy for this. To no avail, it seemed. He was sure a case, though. Jason has ADHD, OCD, and dyslexia. His brain refuses to focus on certain subjects, for there's almost two sides of him.

"Maybe soon, they'll add Multi-Personality Disorder to the list." he smirked, looking down at the ground. He dug in his pockets for his phone. Scrolling through his recent texts, he found one from his mom.

"Have a gr8 day school, honey! 3 u! ~Jill" it read. He sighed. His step-mom tries ever so desperately to relate to him, many times by trying to "be cool", which usually backfires tremendously, and just makes her (and him) look like an idiot. She even went to the hospital for faceplanting at a skate park, trying to learn how to skateboard. Of course, at least this was a much more valiant attempt than his actual mother, who left him when he was six, without even saying goodbye. Still, his friends never saw him the same way again. However, this year, it's a new school, new people. She agreed to stay out of his school affairs.

He was approaching the front entrance. Many groups and cliques were hanging out on the staircase up. It was all he could do not to trip over someone trying to get up them. That would be a great way to be remembered.

"Could it be? _Another_ new kid?" he heard. He immediately whipped around, and witnessed an over-charismatic blonde literally pounce onto him.

"Suzy! Do you seriously have to act like this every time a new face shows up to school?" moaned a smaller boy, with brown hair swept to the side, holding his face in his hands disgustedly, following the blonde. He looked at Jason apologetically. "Sorry. Suzy can be a little- no, really- gah!" As Collin was talking, he seemed to have gained a pencil- in his shoulder.

"Shush, Collin! Can't you see I'm trying to recruit new members?" she giggled, still completely unfazed.

"Um… recruitment?" Jason whispered quietly, completely confused by the craziness of the blonde in front of him.

"Ah! Where are my manners? My name is Suzy! I'm the president of the Journalism Club!" she remarked, quite bubbly. "This is my assistant, Collin."

Collin rubbed his shoulder, wincing at the pain slightly.

"I post her bail," he complained. with an indignant expression.

"So, whaddaya think?" Suzy asked, her chin in her hands.

"Of Mayview? I guess it's okay." Jason replied, uneasy.

"You'll get used to it. We're great people!" she gushed, smiling ear to ear.

"She's lying," Collin shouted, before getting muffled by Suzy's hand, clamping over his mouth. "Mmph!"

"Oh! I just realized. I gotta meet with Dimitri real quick. I'll see ya soon, new kid!" she yelled. With that, she ran off, going into the depths of the school building.

"Suzy! Wait!" Collin exclaimed, before sighing. "She really doesn't stop," he remarked, looking sheepishly at Jason.

"Why do you let her treat you like that?" Jason asked, scratching the back of his head in the process.

"Ah. We've known each other since kindergarten. We've got a… how do you put it… _special_ bond. Plus, I sorta… have a… yeah..." Colin replied, blushing slightly. He opened up his backpack and produced a phone, opening up a new contact form. "Here, put your phone number in. It'd be nice to talk to a normal person for once." Jason punched in his number.

"So, um… what's your name?" Collin asked.

"Jason. Nice to meet you."

"The pleasure's mine. See ya around, Jason."

* * *

Jason pulled his schedule out of his backpack. First period, Science, with Mr. Garcia. Piece of cake. He navigated himself towards the classroom. Inside, there were many students talking and exchanging notes, while the teacher sat in his chair, snoring.

"Um… Mr. Garcia?" he asked.

"Huhh? What?" he said, with a yawn, trying to gain his bearings of where he was. "Ah… um, Jason, correct? There's an open seat over by Max over there. You two should have something in common." He pointed towards a kid with a blue baseball cap on top of a brown crew-cut on his head, and wearing a black hoodie with the words, "Insolent Children" written on it. Hell if he knew what it meant. However, he looked kind of normal. He plopped down in the empty seat, and opened up his backpack, where he pulled out two pencils and neatly put them on the corner of his desk.

"Uh, hey." said Max, who was looking Jason over. "New too, huh?" He smirked at the nod Jason gave. "Quick tip- don't expect anybody to be normal here."

"Too late for that tidbit," Jason responded with a weak smile. He was soon joined by a messy black-haired boy with astonishingly blue eyes, and a kid with orange hair, which covered his eyes.

"Max, who's your friend?" said the ginger.

"Uhh... " Max replied, shifting his glance over to him.

"...Jason."

"Jason, huh? Welcome to Mayview," said the black haired kid. "I'm Cody. And this is Jeff."

Jeff waved, and sat down to the other side of him, pulling out a comic book.

"Ed! Violet! C'mere!" Cody yelled.

"Ah. Another one." the girl who is presumably named Violet said. She was tall, brunette, with a braid running down to her shoulder. A blonde kid with thick round glasses soon peered over Max's shoulder.

"Well, looky here!" he said. He appeared from behind Max, and Jason realized that he was super short. He sported a green t-shirt with the words, "Everyone Dies In the End", neatly accessorized with khaki shorts.

"Another soul to steal- I mean, another friend to be made. I mean, not really opposed to either." he stated, rather plainly, twirling a pencil in his hand. He seemed completely serious, further complemented by his rather creepy grin that spanned across his entire face. Picture those voodoo dolls with the huge angled toothy grins. That is the easiest, yet shallowest, explanation.

"Mm… kay…" Jason replied, inching himself and his desk further away. Max nodded his head, with a slight smirk.

"Trust me. They all mean well, they're just… you know…"

"Repulsive," Violet offered.

"Toxic," Jeff remarked.

"Nerds," said a newer voice. It drawled, and curled, making Jason instantly link it to New Jersey in roots.

"Not now," Max groaned, letting his head slam on the desk.

"Oh, yes, now." said the kid. He wore a menacing smile, with slicked-back tomato-red hair. He looked down at Max, poking his head fiercely with his finger. Max continued to groan during this, but made no attempt to fight back. "Eyy, Maxie. You still conscious?"

"How does anyone just knock themselves out when seeing you, Johnny?" Max retorted, the voice slightly muffled by the desk.

"The same way errybody else gets knocked out," he responded, with a smirk. "By punchin'. I… I do that. I punch people." he added, his smile becoming slightly more deadpan, as he struggled to comprehend his own sentence structures. This is truly a kid who can manage to say things without saying anything.

"New face, eh?" Johnny observed, sizing Jason up. "Not bad… decent build, ah, but the blonde hair-" he listed, taking into account nobody's feelings except his own.

"Who do you think you are, you red-headed jerk?" Jason stated, his face bright red.

"Heh! Ya got nerve, blondie. I'll tell you who I am. I'm the guy who's gonna kick your-"

"Alright, class! Settle down!" Mr. Garcia yawned, gesturing for everyone to take their seats. Johnny looked absolutely ravenous for blood.

"Soon, punk. Be prepared, new kid. You made a dangerous enemy." he said, and then retreated backwards, before backpedaling into the wall and hitting his head on it. Recovering, he gave one more malicious stare, then sat down, grumbling as he started doing a combination of note-taking and drawing pictures of corpses. Jason scowled.

"What's his deal?"

"Johnny's? He likes violence. He'll make any excuse possible to punch someone in the face." Max said, raising his head, only to have to duck to avoid a spitball he heard fire from the back. Jason nimbly leaned to one side, with his eyes closed and muscles relaxed, letting it fly narrowly past his face to land in Jeff's hair.

Jeff whimpered as Max looked at Jason with somewhat awe.

"Sick dodge. You have a faster reaction time than anyone I've ever seen." Cody remarked, whistling at the feat.

"That is a severe compliment, coming from Cody." Violet chuckled. "He is a pro at Hitball. You'll see later on, maybe. Last time, it sorta didn't go so well." With that finishing phrase, everyone glared at Jeff.

"Hey, what's everyone looking at me for?" Jeff exclaimed.

"The dude hits like a truck." Violet stated, looking at Jeff accusingly. "I'll never know how he managed not to get in trouble for taking out bleachers,"

"Or creating craters in the gym floor..."

"Or breaking Dimitri's hand…"

"Seriously? You guys are still egging on that story that everyone except me seems to know?" Jeff huffed.

"He says he has no idea what happened. What a buncha of lies." Johnny added, from the back. "I wanna know how such a nerd like you could throw a ball like that."

"I don't know! Stop bugging me about it!"

"Hey! You guys! Stop talking! I'm in the middle of an unimportant lecture, that, if you don't listen to, will probably do nothing overall to you or your overall grade in this class." Mr. Garcia chastised. "Oh. Um, I didn't mean to say that aloud… yeah, I'm just going to sit down now." With that, he plopped in his chair, and laid his head down on his desk, allowing awkward silence to fill the room. When the bell rang, everyone shuffled out, confused, but slightly amused.

"Uh, Jason. Come sit by me at lunch, later on." Max said, sheepishly addressing him. "You seem sorta cool. I'd like to introduce you to a few people."

"Cool. Uh, sure." Jason said. With that, he casually walked off, giving Max a little smile while leaving towards his second period. Hm… Mr. Starchman?

* * *

Entering the classroom, he spotted an immediate open seat, held open by Cody Jones himself.

"Hey, Jason! What're the odds? Sit here!" he said, with enthusiasm.

Jason sat down in his reserved seat, in the front row, and chatted for a bit with Cody. There seemed to be no other person in the room that he knew. The seat next to him quickly was quickly taken by a ginger who looked rather pleased with himself for making it in the last available chair in the front row.

The ginger looked around, trying to catch what Jason was looking at, before realizing the target of Jason's amazement was him. The kid looked rather normal, in most regards. He was rather pale, and sported a thick light-blue hoodie complemented with gray skinny jeans. However, his hair, yes, orange, but perked up in a zig-zagged pattern, making him stand out quite a bit more than anyone else.

"Ah, you're new, aren't you?" he replied, chuckling at the look of confusion. "The name's Isaac O'Connor. Let's just say, Mr. S is a rather interesting person. I'll let you figure out why so many people prefer the front seat. But, what's your name?"

"Jason. Jason Kurst. By the way, I like the hair." Jason replied, smirking slightly.

Isaac scowled. "Yeah, yeah. Anyways, it's cool that new guys are popping up. First Max, then you…"

"Erm, you know Max?" Jason asked, a bit unaware.

"Of course. Who doesn't?" he said, with a slight tone of indignation.

"Is there something wrong?"

"Only that Max refuses to- oh, um… never mind." Isaac blurted. He seemed to internally chastise himself for saying what he was about to say.

"Oh. Um, it's cool. That's your business." Jason responded, trying to brush off the awkwardness. He didn't quite understand Isaac, with his rather spontaneous behavior, but he understood his pain. He couldn't quite say how he understood it, however.

The bell marking the start of class rang, and soon everything went chaotic. The english teacher, in his plumpness, bounded into the classroom, singing. He did a perfect spin, and surveyed the classroom, before his eyes landed on Jason. Immediately, Jason felt uneasy where he was sitting. Isaac was trying hard not to laugh.

"Hm? A blank canvas? Yet again?" He chirped, pouncing onto his desk. At this distance, Jason noticed more of his features. His crisp, light blue collared shirt, his polished spectacles, and his brilliant mustache, neatly trimmed and maintained. "Fantastic! Splendid!" he cried, with a flourish. He quickly flicked out of his back pocket a shiny, gold-foiled star, with his face embroidered on it, and displayed it for the entire class to see. Someone in the back fell out of their chair. Others were drooling. Isaac gave Jason a side glance, giving him a look that indicated the star's value.

"This is known as a Starchman Star. You can trade it for various rewards. And as per tradition in this class, I will bestow it upon you if, you can tell me… your name."

"Erm, Jason."

"Ah! Beautiful! Here you go, kind sir!" he sung, the star gliding gracefully into Jason's hands. The class oohed and awed as Jason put it in his pocket. It seemed as if his net worth went up, just by pocketing that star, by at least five hundred dollars.

* * *

While class was interesting, there wasn't anything of importance to note. And with that, the bell rang, releasing classes to lunch.

"Um, Jason." Isaac said, behind him. Jason turned, and let the ginger catch up to him.

"Er, sorry for not giving you a bigger warning of what you were about to experience. However, it was rather funny to watch," he said, giving a weak smile.

"I guess it was." Jason said, with a grin.

"So, do you have plans for lunch?"

"Um, I think-"

"Great!" he said, quickly, and marched forward. Jason sighed deeply and followed him to the cafeteria. "You'll love the guys I hang out with-"

"Hey Jason! Over here!" Max yelled. The small kid, Ed, stood up and raised his hand also.

"Oh, you know them?" Isaac asked with a weary expression.

"Yeah. Coming?" Jason said. Isaac followed, and sat down beside him.

"Hey, Isaac." Ed said, nonchalantly. Isaac nodded back, rather uncomfortable.

"Ooh! Who's this?" asked a rather feminine voice.

"Oh, Isabel. This is Jason. He's cool." Ed explained, giving Jason a rather apologetic smile, like, "Sorry in advance."

"Why didn't anyone tell me?" she exclaimed, hugging him.

"You're one to talk." Isaac said, looking down at his food, which remained uneaten.

"Erm, what?" Isabel asked, getting sort of uneasy. Max slowly sunk in his chair.

"Nobody _EVER_ tells me anything!" Isaac yelled. "Why do you guys constantly always leave me in the dark? Is it Mr. Spender? That _group_?"

"Uh, what group?" Jason asked, realizing this is probably a bad time.

Isaac's face reddened. "Nothing," he responded, slumping back into his chair. He began nibbling on a peanut butter sandwich.

Jason shifted his position. "Whatever. So, um… how do you guys all know each other?"

"We're part of a club." Isaac muttered, through bites of sandwich.

"The Activity Club. We're not really accepting members."

"What do you guys do? That is super vague."

"...We do a lot of different stuff. Friendly sports, the such." Isabel said, with a slightly guilty expression. He didn't want to press it much further, though he knew it was a lie.

"Cool. Tell me when a spot opens, 'kay?" he said, with a reassuring smile.

"Heh, yeah. So, what do you usually do, Jason?" Max asked, trying to switch the topic.

"Um, I used to do track. Like, pole vaulting and stuff? Yeah, that was me." he said, scratching his head. He never really liked talking about himself. "...I also play video games."

Ed grinned. "We should totally go a few rounds on Boulevard Brawlers."

"Totally." Isabel stated, nodding her head in agreement.

"You're on. Later, we need to head over to my house."

"Um, actually, the Club has a meeting after school. Maybe tomorrow?"

"Uh, sure."

* * *

As the final bell rung, Jason went to his locker to pack his stuff up. Mr. Spender, the history teacher, loaded him with work to get caught up, but also received a funny look when his name was called. Like he knew him already. However, he tried not to dwell too heavily on it. Now that he thought back, he seemed to notice a lot of strange things today. He stopped dead, and listened to the noise of a silent hallway, save for a few voices. As the door to Mr. Spender's room open, he watched as Max, Ed, and Isabel walked out, each waving individually to him as they passed. Finally, Isaac, grudgingly, walked out, and trudged on, giving a small smile to him and then walking past, to catch up with the group. Finally, emerging from the room was Mr. Spender himself. He wore a white collared shirt, tucked neatly into his dress pants, which matched his tie. His blonde hair was rather strange, slicked back, and complimented with shades, as if he was from the fifties.

"Ah, Jason, am I right?" he asked.

"Yes. Um, when do I need to get this work to you?"

"Just get it done any time this semester. I don't press too hard on this type of stuff."

"Okay. Thanks."

"See ya later, Trace- I mean Jason." he said, freezing in place as he made a detrimental mistake.

"Hm? Did you just say, " _Tracey_ "? As in, my mother?"

"Um… no?" he said, sweating nervously. He looked down at his watch. "Well, look at the time. You and I should be going. I'll see you in class tomorrow!" Mr. Spender yelled.

"I-" he started to say, before sighing. _Welcome to Mayview, Jason,_ he said to himself. _Welcome to Mayview._

* * *

As hell blossomed around her, Tracey stayed dead calm. She looked down at her side and observed her wounds, noticing various scratches and scrapes, along with the occasional bruise. She closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. If she was going to have any chance of surviving, she needed peace. It was dark, and foul monsters surrounded her, trying to keep her restrained.

"Tracey," an echo called. The scenery around her slowly started to turn to gold, pillars erupting from the ground and forming a large temple-like structure, the light becoming more intense. Time seemed to slow down, various creatures around her moving incredibly slow. A beast featuring four sharp fangs and jet black skin leaped toward her, soaring through the air too slowly to ever catch her. A swift kick sent him flying several feet.

"Crux. Haven't heard from you in a while," she responded casually, looking up to see him in all of his glory. A six foot flaming phoenix soared above her, with a golden beak and talons. He seemed to smirk, but it was really hard to tell, knowing he was a phoenix.

"I thought you don't like to be bothered often."

"Yeah?" Tracey replied, amidst many monsters trying to rip her throat out. She snapped her fingers, and looked upon the monsters with a curious expression as they burst into flames. "Whatcha need? And can we talk mentally, because I'm not sure my body can physically take the constant wear of being in spirit mode."

"Ah. Yes," cooed the bird, as he disappeared in a flash of light, along with the seemingly fake palace around her. The monsters sped up, now shifting back and forth with dangerous agility. Her eyes narrowed, and she took a heavy blow to the stomach, knocking the wind out of her.

 _Are you okay, Tracey? I felt our bond sorta fade for a second._ Crux asked, from inside her head, with a worrying tone in his voice.

"I'm fine. I'm just not as young as I used to be." she wearily gasped. Another beast approached her, and pounced. Regaining composure, she looked it dead in the eyes. Her hand blazed with fire across the beast, and it disintegrated to mere dust, a white wisp arising out of the ash. With another snap, it fizzled to nothing. "I used to be a firm believer in giving every spirit a second chance." she explained, her eyes displaying her pity. "I guess I've grown up since then."

"You certainly have." he agreed. Tracey seemed to internally hear the rustling of feathers. "But, my question is, are you going to follow through with your plan?"

"I have come to terms with my inevitable death. However, are you prepared? You'll spend seven years just waiting for your part to come into play."

"I've spent a millennium waiting. Who's to say I can't deal with just a few more?" Crux responded, comforting her for her brave decision.

"Heh. I forget sometimes. I've already arranged B.L. to preserve you. Just, do try to be careful."

"Okay. But, will you finally tell me who your son is?" Crux inquired. He noticed her tiredness. Her inability to carry on. She's spent four days fighting these monsters, enduring the suffering that the Darkness prepared for her. One threat down, in their books.

Tracey looked around. The walls extended about a mile in each direction, just barely in sight. If she did it now, she would eliminate everything with it. A single tear slipped down her face. She will never be there to attend his birthdays. Never there to celebrate his achievements. Never there to comfort him.

"Promise me you'll protect my him."

"I have never given my word to anyone but you, Tracey."

Tracey's fingers started glowing with energy, bathing the area with an intense orange light. "Goodbye, Crux. You were a great partner… and... his name…" she sputtered. "His name is Jason."

She let go. All ears that heard the name were released from their mortal shells, and then everything was silent, save one pale-orange spirit, in the form of a bird, waiting for his chance to fulfill his promise.

* * *

 **So, tell me what you guys think by leaving a review. I plan on releasing another chapter of *gasp* ANB next, so be looking forward to that! Love you guys!**


	2. Chapter 2 - The Activity Club

**Sshhh. It's all okay now. I'm back with the second chapter of Mayview.**

 **This one is for all who don't read Paranatural- a lesson in the ways of this world and the secret that lurks underneath. However, this chapter did go through a few drafts in order to add a bit of personality to otherwise dull teaching. But that's here and there.**

 **I do hope everyone enjoys this chapter. In the future, I hope to be able to write much more often! See ya!**

 **~AuPd**

* * *

"How was school, champ?" Jason's father asked, as he watched him pack his stuff up in the trunk.

"Eh, definitely something out of the ordinary." Jason said, in order to omit as many details as possible. He climbed into the van, sitting in the passenger seat, and strapping the seat belt on, having it sit tightly on his chest.

"Well, that's nice. I'm glad you're finding the move manageable. My promotion turned out phenomenal. In corporate, there's a much easier-to-manage task load. I was done by three! But maybe that's just my eagerness."

"Uh huh." Jason, replied in a daze, while looking out the window, his head resting on his hand. Mr. Spender… he was an interesting man for sure. But… _Tracey_. How did he know his mother? Why is he holding back this information?

"-and that's why can openers are always such a pain. Don't you agree?"

"Hmm? Oh. Yeah." Jason muttered, snapping out of the trance.

"Something got you down, sport? What happened? Did someone tease you or make fun of you? I'm here for you, as always."

"What was Mom like? Before she left us?" Jason asked, his eyes a deep blue, yet entranced in deep thought, trying piece together information. She disappeared seven years ago. For seven years, he was without a calm and guiding figure. He had to figure out how to live like an adult at a young age, for his father was never home. Even now, with his new stepmom, he's been distant. Partially due to his developed instinct for being independent, and partially due to how annoying she was.

His father gave a look as if he'd been shot, but still focused his eyes on the road. But, it made Jason feel almost guilty. But he had to know.

"She was so nice. And so beautiful... like the town right now!" Jason's dad chirped, a mask covering his concern. As expected, he completely dodged the question. Jason sighed, tuning him out as he talked about how night seems to make you pay attention to the things around you. It was going to be a long ride home.

* * *

Jason's stepmom came and went, stopping by for dinner before going back to work to get some overtime in. In reality, Jason knew it was because she didn't know how to deal with kids. She was good with people. But, kids, in her opinion, are something entirely different. She dealt with marriage counseling. If kids were involved, she'd drop the case. It made her rather boring to be around, with very little joy since all she ever did was take on other's problems. So, Jason really couldn't blame her. However, he never understood, when she _did_ try to relate to him, why she'd act so weird- as if she was just putting on a show for an audience. However, Jason tried to stay focused on the task at hand.

Grabbing a ladder from the garage, he opened the attic door and climbed up, safely getting inside. He choked on some dust, looking around the room for specific boxes. Peering through the mass of junk, he found a heap of tubs,one labeled, "Tracey". Bingo. Excitingly shoving the junk sitting on top of the first box, he popped off the first lid. His look of excitement turned to a look of disappointment. All it contained were old textbooks from college. He looked on inside covers. Some had elaborate drawings of her and Jason's father on the extra pages, like in her Calculus book. But, some of them, seemed a bit stranger. She definitely had a vivid imagination. A picture of a bright orange phoenix seemed to adorn most of the textbooks at the top right corner of the first page. Pictures of her battling strange looking creatures, with hands literally ablaze could be found all over "Computer Science and Programming: How the Future is Written". He picked up the book, and moved it over to the exit, where he'll remember to take it to his room. It was a strange sensation gazing upon the doodle. One that made him uncomfortable, yet comfortable at the same time. He'd look at it later.

Digging deeper, he didn't find much more than notes and scratch sheets for pseudo-code. He took a few of the note sheets, for nostalgic reasons, as there seemed to be something comforting about the vibrant yet gentle handwriting of his mother, but closed up the lid and took the books down with him. Climbing down the ladder, his father walked past, and looked at the book in his hands.

"Where'd you get that from? The attic?" his dad asked, confused.

"Uh yeah. Why?"

"I never knew we owned a book on programming. Could I possibly borrow that after you?" he asked, rather innocently.

"You'd never grasp half of the terms used in the book." Jason replied, jokingly. His father smiled.

"Ah, maybe not. Anyways, I wish you the best of luck with… whatever you're doing."

"Uh, yeah. Thanks," Jason replied, before dismissing the conversation and moving the materials to his room. He plopped down on his bed and shuffled through pages. They flew graciously from cover to cover, sticky notes and random loose pages falling out as they soared. Nothing.

"Come on, Mom. There _has_ to be something!" He flipped again. Nothing. He looked stupidly at the book, expecting it to do something cool and reveal the government's secrets.

"Who am I kidding. Mom was just some pansy who left me," Jason muttered. He snapped the book shut, and threw it against the wall. A thud filled the room. His eyes followed its trajectory, looking wearily at its path as it sailed to the ground like a brick, and then went to pick it up. He then noticed something underneath. A photo, about as big as a credit card, adorned a small pamphlet embroidered with the words, "The Activity Club", featuring his mother, at a young age, next to a blonde kid, who, undoubtedly, looked just as painfully awkward as Richard Spender.

As many shuffled out of the school, it being the end of the school day, Jason carefully inspected the hallways, looking for a certain teacher. Darting back and forth, he zoomed from classroom to classroom, until finally-

"Mr. Starchman!" Jason cried, relieved that he finally found him.

"Ah! Jason! What is it you would possibly require, my new star pupil?"

"Heh. I- I just wanted you to have this," Jason sheepishly stated, handing the man his catch-up work. "That should get me back up to speed."

"Indeed it will, but-" Starchman said, frowning. "...this was going to be due next week…"

"Just trying to get ahead." Jason replied, smiling. As he listened to the English teacher rant about how beautiful of a student Jason was, he checked his phone. No new messages. Huh.

"-and I believe the only reward suitable for this is-" Starchman said, with a flourish, "...a Starchman _STAR~_!" And with that, the beautiful sound of foil hitting a middle schooler's forehead rang through the halls, making students stop and listen to the marvelous melody created from such a noise.

* * *

Isaac studied the key in his hand, turning it around and around to idle himself. To many, this key meant nothing more than what it was. To some, it meant access into the Activity Club room, which very few privileged souls ever gazed upon. To him, it meant so much more. So much more he wasn't able to share. So much more he would _never_ share. That was the only thing he had. His _own_ secrets, for he got to know none himself.

He was always the odd one out. Many saw him as a complete dork, due to his aloofness. He always shied away from the other Activity Club members. They all seemed stacked against him. United under one force, ultimately against him, who won't ever tell him what it truly means to- ah, never mind. " _It would ruin the exposition, anyways._ " Isaac thought to himself.

He looked through the window inside the club meeting room, see it look out to the valley that the school sat on top of. It's a beautiful sight. Suddenly, fast footsteps could be heard, and the door was opened. A blonde adult ran into the room, locking it after him. He was huffing loudly.

"Uh, _sir_?" Isaac asked, very confused. _Then again_ , he thought to himself. _When wasn't I utterly confused about everything?_

"No need to call me 'sir', Isaac. M-me and you both know you don't respect my authority," he gasped. "As for what you were watching me run from, which was most likely the question you were trying to ask, I'm running from an absolute _monster_."

"A monster?!" Isaac yelled, his eyebrows furrowing. Then they narrowed, listening to phrases from outside the door.

"Oh, you need something from Spender? Here, let me unlock the door for you-"

As the door creaked open, the face of Max and a very unhappy blonde kid with blue eyes walked in. He was not happy, as stated in the sentence before, but it was a state of such unhappiness, that it needed to be stated two, er, three times.

"So, um, what's going on, Mr. Spender?" Max said, completely unaware of what's going on.

"Uh, nothing. Hi, Jason!" replied Spender, uneasily.

"Hello." The intensity radiated from across the room. "I have something to talk about with you, that hopefully involves you _not_ running away."

"What- what might that be?"

"I want to join the Activity Club." Jason said through gritted teeth. It's time he truly learned what was going on. However, those words seemed to trigger something in everyone else.

"Heh, I gotta go home- yeah. I, um, have a shift to do at the, convenience store. So. Um. See ya." said, Max, starting towards the door, knowing what he wanted to do in here was not worth being in the same room with Jason right now.

"Let me walk you down, Max-" said Isaac. For some reason, he felt this was going to get very messy, very quickly.

"You two need a guardian, so I'll be-" Spender started.

"Not so fast," Jason said. Everyone froze. "I've been getting tired of people dodging me. You can't deny me. I'm a _legacy_." Spender started sweating. The other two boys looked at him in confusion. Jason held up the Activity Club handbook. It fell apart in his hands, the spine letting loose all the pages to the floor.

"Crap," he exclaimed, while putting the pieces back together. "That's one way to break the mood." Isaac couldn't hear much of Jason's muttering as he attempted to scoop up all of the papers, but he could of sworn he heard something like, "I knew I shouldn't have thrown it."

"We had a handbook?" Max asked, looking shocked to see rules exist.

"Yeah. Back when _I_ was a member. This club has been around for a while. That picture on the first page is of me and a few other people."

"-one of them being my mother." Jason added. "And, as the rules state, one is guaranteed admittance if the person in question-"

"-is a descendant of an already established member. Yeah, yeah. But that was before we learned that the trait didn't pass on-" Spender started. He then cursed to himself.

"Mm?" Jason egged.

Isaac looked fed up. "You see, the truth is-"

"Isaac!" Spender scolded.

"What? What's going to happen? Am I going to get _scolded_ by the- oh wait! I DON'T _KNOW_ WHO THEY ARE!" Isaac screamed. Spender receded into the background. "The truth is, we're _spectrals_. We can see and interact with ghosts and spirits, and are the only line of defense to humans. There are different types of spirits, with their own shades of colors. Spectrals carry those colors too. The more a spirit's color matches with a spectral's, the more they will resonate with their body. However, the powers that result from this resonance develop over time through most." Isaac started explaining. Max slumped down on the couch, next to Spender, who had his head in his hands, weeping over his now leaked secrets.

"You're joking," Isaac heard Jason say softly. He ignored him.

"The spirits of a spectral and ghost are linked through what are known as 'tools', or possessed objects. The spectral gets its power, while the spirit absorbs the spectral energy off of the host, creating a perfect symbiotic relationship. That's people like Max over there. With his bat."

Max looked at Isaac sheepishly. "I'm guessing you want me to- yeah." Max got up, and pulled out a very plain-looking aluminum baseball bat from his backpack; holding it in front of him with both hands, he made it point at a CD sitting on Spender's desk. It then shot to the bat, sticking on to it with a sharp vibration.

Isaac closed his eyes and chuckled at Jason's wide-eyed expression.

"If the coolest thing you've ever seen was someone using a giant magnet, that's pitiful," Isaac stated, while dodging various metal objects flying at him, by a peeved kid previously mentioned in his example. He sat there for a hot minute, before raising his hand and shooting them down with jolts of electricity, taking the time to give the explosions a little more of a show for his new audience member. But this time, he didn't get the jaw-drop he was hoping for, but rather, the look of sudden realization. Isaac looked puzzled.

"My, my mom-"

"-was a medium.' Spender stated, finishing Jason's statement. Isaac was rather surprised by his presence, which seemed nonexistent for a few minutes, a strange occurrence for the teacher. This was a person who wore sunglasses indoors, for Pete's sake. As Isaac could clearly see, Spender seemed uncomfortable in his current situation, but also seemed ready to tackle the briefing.

"Uh, mediums are cases where spirit hosts a person directly, instead of through tools. This process gives you more and more abilities from your spirit faster. You could see this through how Isaac is able to summon lightning."

Isaac looked up. "I can do other things too… like, you know, other weather…"

Spender gave him a look. "Not important? Okay." Isaac then sat down, observing Jason's mental breakdown. Hey, he asked for it.

Spender continued. "Her abilities were rather unique. I haven't seen any with the ability to control-"

"Fire, right?"

Spender adjusted his shades on his face. "So, you aren't so clueless after all. I'm guessing she tried to expose you early on?"

"The opposite. I never knew. I looked through her textbooks from college. She doodles on her books all the time, about fire, and her fighting monsters with it. That was one thing I always found cool her," Jason explained, looking down at the ground. Isaac looked at him with concern. The silence ensued.

"What happened with your mom?" Max asked, trying to break the awkwardness.

"She disappeared. My dad moved on- much more so, than me, I guess." Jason sniffled. Isaac sensed the conversation going downhill. To give Max a message, he punched him in the arm. It was safe to say, he didn't get it, and punched back. Isaac clutched his arm as it throbbed with pain.

"You okay?" Spencer asked, his eyebrows angling outwards, giving Jason a look that if his eyes were visible, would probably be full of pity.

"Yeah. Isaac hits like a limp noodle." Max replied. Isaac scowled.

"I think he meant Jason," his words dripping with malice.

"I'm fine, guys. Seriously." Jason stated, wiping a tear away before it could start. Max coughed, then interrupted.

"So, Mr. Spender, Jason's in?" Max asked, pulling the conversation further away from emotion. Isaac studied Max carefully. He didn't actually know much about him personally. However, it seemed like Max was rather uncomfortable talking about Jason's missing mother- to an exponential degree. Well, either way, Isaac was happy that he was at least on the same track.

"Well, I don't know why he wouldn't be, knowing that I have to keep an eye on him in order to ensure our secrets aren't stolen." Spender replied, adjusting his shades. He jumped when a jet-black haired female arose from behind the couch, catching him and everyone else off guard.

"Yes! Another member! So, that means there's six of us now, including Spender?"

Jason rubbed his eyes. "How long were you hiding there?"

"About thirty minutes," Isabel responded, completely unfazed. "That's besides the point. So, you _aren't_ a spectral?"

"As far as I know, no."

"Then I have someone to introduce you to." she said, with a mischievous look in her eye.

* * *

"No." replied the old man. Jason looked at him with awe. He was a hulk of a man, with a very defined jaw, coated thickly with a frosty white beard. The easiest analogy would be if Santa picked up karate as a hobby- and turned it into a career. He had no shirt on, and instead substituted it for a white robe that showed his pectoral muscles through the gap in middle.

"He's a new recruit! You have to train him!" Isabel protested.

"Just because that foolish Richard Spender recruited him into his group does _not_ mean I will teach him. But we are ignoring the elephant in the room. He is not even a spectral!" the old man spat. He then turned to Jason. "Who are you, boy?"

"J-Jason. Jason Kurst."

The man looked like he saw a ghost. He stepped back, surveying the blonde with wide eyes. Jason gave the man a confused look, not quite understanding what meaning his name had to him. But wait-

"You- you know my mom." Jason stated, realization dawning on him.

"I- yes. She was my pupil. She was very potent in her abilities, and therefore a force not to mess with."

" _Was_?"

"You don't know? She was sent on mission by the Consortium. There was an ambush. Your mother died, making a sacrifice to wipe out an entire legion of spirits dedicated to the Brotherhood."

This news didn't necessarily break Jason. He prepared for this. He's had seven years to. However, there was some new information in the mix.

"The Consortium? The Brotherhood? What?"

"In due time, you will learn. If not by Spender," the man said, with a flourish. Jason looked up at him. "Then you will learn by me. You will call me Sensei Guerra. I will teach you the way of fighting without seeing- the way your mother learned."

* * *

 **Queue the Rocky Balboa music, cuz we're _training_ next chapter! (Please help me)**

 **If you guys enjoyed, please leave a review! If you didn't, also leave a review!** . **MWAHAHAHAHA *cough cough* Uh, yeah, so... see ya guys next week. Love you all! :3**


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